Future Flames
by Shana Heartfilia
Summary: Lucy is a troubled teen, dealing with the rejection of her father and the death of her mother seven years prior. When she gets caught doing something illegal, her father decides it's time she was sent to her aunt's house. Lucy arrives at the beautiful, ocean side town of Magnolia where she meets a strange boy with rose colored hair. Could a relationship develop between them? AU.


**Helloooo, what's up? XD So I really, really, really love the ocean and I had a dream about something like this the other night. I felt it was necessary to try writing it down in the form of a Nalu fanfic. Anyway, tell me how you like it! Enjoy.**

Lucy's eyes skimmed the vast expanse of clouds while her plane sailed through the sky. As scenery flashed past her unseeing eyes, Lucy merely thought about all the other places she'd rather be. Her headphones tugged uncomfortably in her ears, the music blaring to shield herself from the outside world.

Her head rested on the palm of her hand as she reclined in the stuffy first class sector of the plane. She was surrounded by wealthy entrepreneurs like her father and overly friendly flight attendants. It was sickening.

Lucy sighed and closed her eyes. A memory of the week before flashed in her mind. Everything had been fine until that week. Lucy wasn't the most controlled teenager, and she knew it. She did illegal things, partied with the wrong people, and disregarded authority because she thought she was above it all. _Untouchable_.

One week ago, Lucy's father paced through the halls of their luxurious mansion waiting for his troubled teen to return. The doorbell rang, and to his shock, Lucy stood with her arms restrained by two burly looking police officers.

She had been caught breaking into a car. That one mistake had sent her father over the edge. Jude Heartfilia apologized profusely for the misguided actions of his daughter. The officers warned that she didn't have any chances left; one more mistake and she'd be imprisoned.

"Why do you do this to me, Lucy?! Why can't you behave like a civilized human being? You were raised better than that!" Lucy didn't speak, simply taking whatever her father threw at her. This argument occurred often, so she knew once his anger passed, she would be sent on her way.

"Have I not given you everything you've ever asked for?" Her father threw his arms up in exasperation.

Lucy twitched slightly at his words. "Stop it…" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"What did you say to me?" Jude's eyes glinted at his daughter's insolence.

"Stop it! You think you've given me everything? You've given me nothing!" Lucy was screaming now, heat rolling off of her as her anger flared.

"I don't want cars or money. I never wanted that. I wanted you, dad. I wanted a father, but I guess you were too dense to even realize that! Once mom died—"

Lucy jumped as her father slammed his fist into the wall. "Do not mention your mother in my presence!" Silence and tension filled the air. Lucy dared not speak, so she simply stared daggers at her father.

"That's it, Lucy. I've tried. I really have, but that's it. I'm sending you away. It's the best thing I can think of." Jude brushed his hair back and calmed his breathing.

"You need to realize how fortunate you really are. To make you understand that, I'm sending you to your aunt's house. You will stay there until I see fit."

Lucy huffed and crossed her arms. "You can't do that. You can't do this to me. If you ever loved me, you'll let me stay."

Sadness filled her father's eyes for a brief moment before he whispered, "I'm doing this because I love you…"

And now here she was, flying across the world to go stay in some secluded beach village where strangers were a rare occurrence. She let out a long sigh. This was going to be a long summer.

Lucy continued staring out the window, remembering what life was like before her mother's death. When she was seven, her mother experienced a pain in her head, causing her to lose conscious. She was dead before she even hit the ground. The doctors said it was a cerebral hemorrhage.

Ten years had passed since then, and Lucy had changed drastically. Her relationship with her father became broken, nonexistent even. She lashed out at the world, trying to find some sort of peace within her troubled mind. She had become disenchanted with life.

Nothing seemed to sate her uncontrollable thirst for acceptance and love. Her father all but abandoned her. Her mother left her far too early. Lucy had no one to call a true friend.

She had to admit, her existence was a sad one.

A voice over the plane intercom pulled her from her thoughts. "Hello ladies and gentlemen, we will be touching down in the small village of Magnolia for fuel and supplies briefly. This will only take fifteen minutes, and then we shall continue our flight. Thank you for your patience!" 

The intercom cut off, and Lucy sighed. This would be her stop. The rest of the passengers would continue on without her towards the large city of Hargeon.

She tilted her head back against the headrest and closed her weary eyes. _And so it begins…_

Lucy felt the plane descending through the clouds, barreling closer and closer to their destination. Within minutes, the landing gear roughly made contact with the runway ground, jerking Lucy slightly from the impact.

Once the plane was where it needed to be, Lucy stood and removed her luggage from the overhead compartment. She struggled to pass the flight attendants attempting to give her unwanted assistance. She merely grumbled a quick "I'm fine…" in their direction before stepping off into the small airport.

She shifted the weight of her bags on her shoulder before continuing down the long hallway leading to where her larger luggage was being unloaded.

Once all her belongings were back in her possession, Lucy made her way to the front of the small building were her Aunt Tara was supposed to meet her.

Tara was her mother's younger sister, the wilder of the two. While Layla settled down with a wealthy man, Tara was all over the place. She had more relationships than Lucy could count. She lived in countless places, never staying more than two years at a time. That all changed when she met her current and longest lasting boyfriend, Hunter. The pair had been together for nearly eight years now. Hunter had somehow managed to convince Lucy's aunt to live with him in Magnolia after several years of chasing the carefree woman.

Tara had been rejected by her upper class family when she was Lucy's age because of her unrestrained behavior. Aunt Tara always told Lucy she reminded her of herself, longing for more in life than fancy clothes and a distinguished name.

Lucy tugged her heavy bags slowly behind her, closing in on the exit of the airport. She reached the door and pushed lightly, revealing the fresh beach air. The harsh sunlight stung Lucy's eye momentarily. When her vision returned, she saw the familiar smiling face of her aunt. Lucy couldn't help but return a soft smile of her own.

"Hey, kid! Damn, you've grown! You're a spitting image of Layla." The tall brunette rushed over to Lucy, crushing her in a bear hug.

"Can't… breathe…" Lucy exaggerated slightly. She wasn't used to being touched by others so a small blush crept to her cheeks.

"Ha-ha, sorry kid. Here, give me one of them heavy bags. You look ridiculous carrying so much." Tara grabbed the handle of the rolling suitcase in Lucy's left hand and started walking in the opposite direction. Lucy quickened her pace to keep up.

"So, where's the car?" Lucy looked around questioningly. No vehicles were in sight. Tara laughed slightly.

"Sorry kid, we walk places here. No luxuries like cars or phones or internet. You'll realize how great a little break from those things really is, trust me." Tara tilted her head back in a giant smile. Lucy groaned internally. _God…_

"Oh, that's…great, Aunt Tara. Sounds lovely…" Lucy sighed and continued following her.

Tara turned right and headed down a narrow dirt road surrounded by swaying palm trees and ferns. Lucy could hear the ocean nearby and longed for its embrace. The sea was the one place she truly loved.

Her father told her that Tara's house was directly on the beach. This was a prospect Lucy was thrilled about. The ocean would probably be the only thing keeping her sane during her stay.

X-X-X-X-X

"Not much further. We'll be there in ten minutes." Tara could hear Lucy huffing slightly from their walk. It had been nearly an hour since they departed the airport.

"Oh… oh, good… I was beginning… to think we'd… never get there…" Lucy panted and focused on controlling her breathing. Almost the entire time they'd been following the path, there had been a slight incline causing trouble for the poor blonde.

The palm trees seemed to be thinning now, indicating a clearing was up ahead. Lucy began to see sand replace the dirt on the road. Excitement coursed through her veins as her pace quickened.

The path dissipated as they reached the clearing. Lucy's eye drank in the beautiful white sand leading up to the clearest blue water she'd ever seen.

"It's beautiful…" Lucy's lips parted slightly as she took in the magnificent scenery.

"Sure is, isn't it?" Tara had a faraway look in her eyes as she peered across the open expanse of water, her short brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze. "Well then, let's get you to the house. You probably want to clean up after your flight." Tara ushered Lucy forward towards a little beach house not far from the water's edge.

The white paint seemed to be peeling away steadily from the wooden exterior of the house. Red and pink flowers grew in a small garden near the front porch. Rocking chairs and a small table faced the ocean on the porch as well. The screen door leading into the house opened briefly, and a rugged man in his mid-thirties exited with two drinks in his hands. His long dark hair whipped back and forth over his face from the slight breeze. Lucy assumed this was Hunter.

"Welcome back, ladies. I've prepared some supper, and I thought you two might like some strawberry smoothies after that walk back here." Hunter smiled genuinely at Tara and Lucy.

"Ha-ha, thanks babe. Looks great!" Tara pulled Hunter into a quick kiss before walking up the few steps that led to the porch. Lucy pretended not to see Hunter blush briefly.

"Yeah, thank you, Hunter." Lucy tilted her head, bowing slightly. She then followed her aunt into the quaint little house.

The furniture seemed to be older, but it had a very homey feeling. The couches and tables were all white. Most of the colors came through on the walls. Every room inside the house was a different color: from a yellow kitchen to a sky blue bathroom, everything was colored. Surprisingly, it made it look gorgeous. Flowers adorned nearly every table inside the house, adding a uniquely beautiful fragrance.

Lucy smiled at the beauty of the house. It was rather modest in size, which was a nice change from her fifty roomed mansion back home. Maybe this was just what Lucy needed…

"Come on, kid. I'll show 'ya to your room." Lucy followed her aunt up the stairs to the second story.

Tara opened a door to reveal a small bedroom. The walls were a light rose color, the bed had a white comforter with several pink throw pillows sitting on top. A large white chest sat at the back of the bed, and a full length mirror sat at the corner of the room. What caught Lucy's attention first though, was a desk with countless books and a journal sitting on it. The desk sat next to a window seat that overlooked the ocean. It was perfect.

"Your dad said you liked to write. I thought a journal might help you with whatever you're going through." Lucy turned to face Tara before thanking her.

"Nah, don't mention it, kid! I'll let you settle in. Dinner's done whenever you're ready." With that, Tara turned and closed the door behind her.

Lucy walked over to the bed and sat down, dropping her luggage as she did so. She sighed and closed her eyes as she laid down on the bed, her feet still touching the ground. _Maybe this won't be so bad. _

X-X-X-X-X

Lucy had spent the night unpacking and settling in to her temporary home. She was mentally and physically exhausted from the events that had happened that day. The moon shone brightly through her window, casting a pale light over her skin.

She had just left the shower and decided to open her window to watch the water brush up against the sand. The sounds, smells, and visions the ocean presented her soothed her mind. Lucy made her way across the room and sat at the window seat and opened the window. Fresh night air brushed against her skin, creating the sensation of warmth.

Lucy placed her hands under her chin and leaned her arms on the open windowsill. She cocked her head to the side as she noticed someone running along the sand. _I wonder why someone's out this late…_

Lucy watched intently as the figure dashed along the sand, drawing nearer and nearer to area in front of the house. She realized it was a boy around her age, and _damn_ was he built. Something white was wrapped around his head and flapped in the wind as he ran. Toned muscles flexed as his feet pounded away at the sand.

Lucy dragged her eyes away from his ripped chest to look at his face. A goofy, childlike smile spread over his entire face, and what looked to be pink hair bounced on his head. Wait, _pink_? Lucy smiled slightly. She had to admit, he was rather handsome.

She heard him laugh as he continued running, nearly completely in front of the house now. Why was he out running at night? Was that a _scarf _wrapped around his hair? Lucy couldn't help but think this boy was incredibly peculiar, nothing like the guys back home. He seemed free, and she envied him.

Lucy laughed quietly at his jubilant expression. Suddenly, as if he could hear her small laughter, the boy turned his head and looked directly at Lucy. His running slowed for a moment to watch the strange girl curiously. Lucy's breath caught in her throat as she locked eyes with him.

"Crap…" Lucy squeaked as she ducked out of sight, falling off of the window seat and onto the floor. She heard boisterous laughter from the beach. Lucy blushed profusely while she silently cursed herself for getting caught staring.

She stayed slammed against the floor for a few more moments before raising her head and peering out the window. She saw the boy running again, already far passed her house. She sighed in relief before the feeling of longing and loneliness set in.

She wanted to meet him, to know how that boy could smile so brightly. She wondered what his friendship would be like. Lucy watched the boy run until he was nothing but a speck bobbing up and down in the distance.

Lucy sighed and stood from the window seat. She flopped down on the bed face first and cuddled up into the pillows. She smiled slightly remembering his gleeful expression and closed her eyes. _Maybe it's not so bad here after all…_

X-X-X-X-X

Natsu loved running at night, it was exhilarating and freeing. The breeze made him feel alive and the summer heat propelled him to race faster and faster. He ran along this area of beach nearly every night, so he was surprised when he saw a pair of chocolate eyes staring down at him from Tara's house. He was positive that room was never used. The window was never opened and Tara didn't have children.

Curiosity filled his mind as he slowed his pace slightly to peer up at the strange creature. Honey colored hair framed her pale face and delicate hands rested on the windowsill. He had heard her laugh at something, drawing his attention to her. Was she laughing at him?

Shock and embarrassment filled her eyes. Natsu held her eyes before she ducked quickly out a view. Natsu's hearing was excellent so he heard a muffled "Crap!" and a thump as she hit the floor.

Loud laughter escaped his lips. She sure was weird; weird, but interesting.

He waited a few moments for her to reappear, but she never showed. Disappointment filled his face, but he shrugged it off and continued his run. _Maybe I'll come back tomorrow…_


End file.
